EAST LANSING -- For those who think Michigan State has been paying lip service to its smoldering rivalry with Wisconsin in recent years, Goran Suton put the matter into context that any Spartans fan could understand.

"I like Michigan better than I like them, so that's pretty bad," the senior center said of the Badgers.

If that was not clear enough, Suton added, "I hate Wisconsin."

So much animosity, along with the fact the No. 6 Spartans (20-5, 10-3 Big Ten) will try to hold onto their first-place conference lead should make for a festive occasion when the Badgers play Michigan State at 3 p.m. today at Breslin Center.

Not to mention members of MSU's 1979 team are reuniting at the game to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their national championship.

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo has expressed chagrin about the holiday atmosphere present in opposing arenas when the Spartans come to town, so he is looking forward to turning the tables -- at the expense of the Badgers (17-9, 8-6) -- for a change.

It is not as if the Badgers and Spartans are natural enemies, which is why it seems so improbable that bad blood exists between the teams.

Maybe it started in 1999-2000 when MSU beat Wisconsin four times, including once in the Final Four, en route to the national title, but it exponentially elevated after Bo Ryan became the Badgers coach in '01-02.

Things kept heating up in '02, when the officials ruled Kelvin Torbert's potential game-winning shot came after the buzzer and the Badgers' 64-63 victory snapped Michigan State's nation-leading 53-game home winning streak.

The following year, Izzo and the Spartans took exception to the way Wisconsin players showboated at the end of an 11-point win in Madison.

"I'll remember that," Izzo said afterward.

In '04, the Badgers' ruined MSU's Big Ten title hopes with a 68-64 overtime victory.

The "Bo Owns Izzo" T-shirts sold after Ryan improved to 6-0 against the Spartans came in '05.

MSU got sweet revenge in '07 when the undermanned Spartans pulled off a 64-55 upset of the No. 1-ranked Badgers, who settled for second place in the league.

However, Wisconsin improved to 11-3 against MSU in the Ryan era by winning the past four in a row, including last year in the Big Ten tournament semifinals. The Spartans led by 12 points with 8:15 remaining, but four Spartans, including Suton, fouled out down the stretch of the foul-plagued game.

It was a tear-filled locker room afterward because MSU lost its last chance to send seniors Drew Neitzel and Drew Naymick out with a championship.

"I think it's probably my toughest loss ever because of what we put into that game, how we played that whole game, how we lost it and everything that was taken away from us because of it," senior guard Travis Walton said. "If you look at the last few years, the reason we didn't win the Big Ten had something to do with Wisconsin."